Healthbeat: What to do with holiday leftovers

The holidays mean food, and often lots of it. There are many ways to avoid wasting what is leftover and also to reduce the risk of over-consuming calories from what remains.

Pam Stuppy

The holidays mean food, and often lots of it. There are many ways to avoid wasting what is leftover and also to reduce the risk of over-consuming calories from what remains.

Some of these ideas are part of the event planning before and during the holidays, while others are ways of addressing the excesses left in the refrigerator and cupboards.

As you plan your holiday meals, you can either choose to prepare only what might be consumed, or you can plan to have leftovers to use as time-savers after the holidays. If you are asking guests to bring food, coordinate the menu so it is well-balanced. This can reduce excesses of certain types of food that will then not be eaten. If there is food left over from a potluck meal that you do not think you will be able to use, ask the guests to take home whatever remains of the dish they brought.

Another idea for planning holiday meals is to consider a "tasting menu." This means offering small portions of each food so that guests do not waste food, over-consume, or leave you with an abundance of leftovers. This can be especially useful when it comes to desserts.

If you would like to save meal preparation time, as well as to encourage a greater intake of the main meal, try limiting the number and amount of appetizers. As you plan meals, think of desserts that are delicious, yet contain some nutritional value. An example might be pumpkin custard instead of pumpkin pie (you and your guests save calories and fat by omitting the crust).

The days following a holiday often feel like a "let-down" after all the excitement is over. To extend the holiday feeling, why not ask friends to meet for an after-holiday meal where each person brings leftovers to share with the group.

To reduce the risk of overeating after holiday meals, shortly after the meal pack portion-sized containers of the foods and freeze for later use. You can even freeze your own individual portioned plates (include a protein source, starch, and vegetable) to be heated up at the end of a busy day in the future. This puts you in more control over the content of future meals (likely containing less sodium than some of the commercial frozen meals). Label and date the containers you freeze so you can rotate through them by date.

Portioned leftovers can also be a welcome gift for family members or friends who do not cook, who are house bound, who have busy schedules, or who have limited income. This can provide them with some healthy food options that take minimal time to prepare. It is also a great way to share the blessing of an abundance of delicious foods with those who are less fortunate.

To reduce the risk of consuming excessive calories, keep extra desserts or snack foods out of sight so you are not continually challenged to nibble on these throughout the day. Some snacks can be repurposed. An example might be leftover nuts that can be added to hot or cold breakfast cereals, sprinkled over yogurt, used in baked goods (like chopped or ground nuts added to muffins or pancake batter), added to a stir fry, sprinkled on a hearty soup, or added to salads.

Since nuts can be a healthy addition to your day, try a combination of healthy cereal and some nuts/seeds as a trail mix snack. Individual servings of this mix can be placed in bags to be used as a snack over the upcoming week(s).

Leftover meal items can be repurposed, too. Many of these recipes can also be frozen for future use. Protein items can be used in a soup, stew, stir fry, omelet, sandwich/wrap/pita pocket filling, fajita, casserole, pasta dish, whole grain or green salad. They can be enhanced with various seasonings/herb mixes, salsa, or sauces.

Bread items can be used to make french toast, bread pudding or strata. They can also be turned into plain or seasoned crumbs for breading baked chicken/fish dishes or as a binder for meatballs/meatloaf.

To lower the calorie density of leftover mashed potatoes, consider stirring in some vegetables and baking. Leftover veggies can be eaten alone, mixed together, used in a casserole or stir fry, added to an omelet, mixed with tomato sauce for use over whole grain pasta, or as a topping for pizza (made with a whole grain crust of course).

Mashed sweet potato can be stirred into a soup or chowder. It can also be added to pancake or waffle batter, muffin batter, or as part of yeast bread dough.

A fun activity after the holiday meal(s) might be to have each family member in charge of creating a meal with the leftovers. You could be surprised by what interesting menu items appear on the table.

As you are preparing, consuming, and finishing a meal, always keep food safety guidelines in mind. This means keeping food that needs refrigeration at a temperature of 40 degrees or colder as long as possible. Frozen foods should be thawed safely — either in the microwave oven or in the refrigerator.

Once the meal is over, get perishables in the refrigerator or freezer as quickly as possible. Try to avoid overloading the refrigerator or freezer as the cool air needs to circulate. For larger amounts of food, consider refrigerating it in smaller containers so it reaches a safe temperature more quickly. As a general guide, avoid having foods out of the safe temperature range longer than two hours.

With a little planning, leftovers can be a time- and money-saver for future healthy meals and snacks!

Pam Stuppy, MS, RD, CSSD, LD, is a registered, licensed dietitian with nutrition counseling offices in York, Maine, and Portsmouth. She is also the nutritionist for Phillips Exeter Academy. Visit www.pamstuppynutrition.com for nutrition information, healthy cooking tips and recipe ideas.

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